Fate/stay Night - War of the Fourteen Magi - In Character

[VanceXentan]

OOC Link: OPEN SIGNUPS - Fate/stay Night - War of the Fourteen Magi - Reboot - Alternate Universe

It is the year 2012. The Date: December 1st. The long and arduous task of gathering servants, and masters alike for a new holy war has already begun but at the request of the mage association the very first fight has yet to truly start. The war zone is a city known as Fuyuki City located in Japan which has held multiple wars there during it's life time. Many heroes from beyond time have appeared from times past, present, and future to serve in this war known simply as the Holy Grail war. Typically there are at the very least several servants at maximum vying for the chance to get their wish granted by the Holy Grail itself. Said to be able to perform most any wish theoretically the grail is greatly treasured by mages.

However only those whom the grail selects as worthy masters are worthy attending. And somehow this year despite the odds fourteen master have been selected...no one knows what it means. Or how have doubles of each servant class would work. Would new classes show up? Would old ones change? Would there be no change just more chaos? The Mage's Association has planned ahead this time to both guarantee a winner after the failure to declare one last war by sending two overseers, one monk in training and a father, to make sure things go smoothly with all the servants. The overseer himself has also decided to step up to the plate and add additional rules to the tournament first however he asked that all willing magi meet him at the Fuyuki City Cathedral built and paid for by a wealthy owner from the association itself and donated as neutral ground for the war.
===
The time is 6:00, and the cold night air is flowing all around the city with some minor snow falling from the sky. It wasn't anything to worry about but it was pretty, and very cold all the same. The fact that the war hadn't officially kicked off yet meant that either the overseer was really powerful, the servants weren't all in the city yet, or no one really cared to start a fight before all the dice were thrown. Either way things would start very soon. Probably by the end of the night if what Leon Winchester had thought was true. Leon was clothed from head to toe in thick clothing just to make certain he wouldn't catch anything.

He had a wool cap on even and that was something he hated wearing. On his back sat his ever present ally, and friend Archer. Archer was...an anomaly to say the least. He was a young man with eyes full of wonder, and ever ready with quip about the lands they had visited. He looked like, and sometimes acted like, he was ten years but in reality he was older than any member of Leon's whole family. The handsome young devil with red eyes, golden hair, and cultivated with the wealth of some small nations had his head planted firmly on Leon's shoulder. Leon never really had any siblings only people he knew from his parent's workplace, or his newly made friends from his school. He was wearing a light blue coat, a pair of multi-colored tan pants, and a pair of golden ear-muffs. Leon could feel his breathing on the back of his neck. He still hadn't seen what this little guy was fully capable of but he was a heroic spirit of some kind. One of an number of ancient heroes who was said to have been capable of destroying entire city blocks in some cases.

That line of thought made him wonder just how strong this little 'brother' of his exactly. He still was't sure if Archer was who he said he was despite his vast amount of resources at his disposal. Archer had insisted that he wait and show his master what he could do when the time came to do it. He didn't want to risk the chance of exposing is power to some mind reader, or spy. Archer had claimed that many masters would probably be looking for them especially since he was one of the famed knight classes. Archer had little worries otherwise though and had eagerly followed him around wanting to make new friends, and do things with Leon.

"It's a beautiful evening isn't it?" Leon chimed in as they turned a corner. He had been walking for about twenty minutes now and his feet hurt a little. The two of them had been mostly silent nothing to really talk about that they hadn't already talked about before leaving the house. Besides that he really didn't want to get into a long conversation with Archer. They tended to be drawn out, and filled with niceties. "Yeah it really is isn't it? I remember the skies being a lot more lit up back when I was back home. They were a lot more bright back then and they filled the whole sky. I guess advancements in technology now of days has caused the sky to change huh? Well at the very least I get to spend the night with you Big Bro." Archer said with a cat like smile as he chuckled and swung his legs back and forth. Leon chuckled as he nodded at his young servant. ["You're not too far from the truth I suppose. We as a species have evolved a lot and with it came industry. It must've been one hell of a wonder to see the skies unclouded everyday huh? I could probably only imagine that unless I went to some remote place in the world." Leon replied with a casual tone as he looked back at the sky.

"Well I can't really say much on the subject my old home had been reduced to rubble long ago before your family's great ancestors probably existed. It doesn't matter now for now we're going to need to stay focused on the task at hand Big Bro. We're going to be going to an area brimming with masters, and servants. It'll be cool meeting the other classes in a neutral area but I'm not entirely sure it would be wise if we just introduced ourselves flat out. If I had to give a guess at what was happening and why the priest in charge was sending out a call to everyone it's probably because he has something big planned for all of us that may require the masters to show their faces. If not he'd have called us servants there by ourselves. Don't worry even if things go down no one's as strong as me! Not even that Saber class people hold so high in regard. I mean I could be wrong but I like to think otherwise." Archer stated to Leon who nodded. He figured Archer had the right of it at the moment. He couldn't help but wonder what exactly was happening. But he also understood Archer had a knack for knowing things...like how to cheat at card games using his seemingly bizarre talent of knowledge. "Is that something you know because you saw it, or is it just conjecture?" Leon asked of Archer who shrugged. "The future changes all the time big bro all I can do is try to wade through it as best I can. I'm not some caster class seer. I'm still just a little kid after all can't expect me to hold all the answers you know." Archer said with chuckled as Leon grunted he was right but most little kids didn't have the ability to crush car frames with their bare hands.


As Leon came to a stop he saw a man in a black priest's robes, and a cross dangling from his robes in front. He had mittens on, and had long dark brown hair. He didn't appear to be the main overseer. As Leon approached he turned his head, and acknowledged him. "So then our second guest is here? Welcome Master. Servant I would ask that you stay out here. I'm afraid servants aren't welcome on neutral ground at the moment. Too many servants in the middle of the same place could cause a ruckus. Of course fighting is forbidden out here so close as well. But there is much more room for all of you to do what you will out here. I apologize for the inconvenience it is the will of the Overseer." the man said as Leon frowned, and nodded his head then took a look at Archer "Will you be ok out here?" Leon asked of Archer who jumped off his shoulders and giggled. "No problem big bro I'll go see what kind of stuff I can stick more nose in. Maybe I'll find out something cool. Catcha later!" Archer said with a grin as the golden haired young boy turned into a spiritual mist right before Leon's eyes. Leon took one last look at where Archer had just been before nodding entering through the front door after walking down the small pathway leading there from the front gate.

As he entered the cathedral he was immediately welcomed by the warmth that was hoping for. The room was spacious, and had many door ways and entrances to other areas however a small sign indicated where he should go. Leon looked around and felt the need to pull off his extra clothing and stuff the stuff he could into his jacket pockets. He then put all the stuff up hanging from the coat hanger, and then placed his shoes by the entrance as was customary in Japan. He took one last look back at the closed door. He made his way through the door until he came to a large hall with a single teenager in there around his age. He had bright tanish hair, and dark brown eyes. He looked well off as he was wearing a suit, and was well groomed. He'd probably be trouble later. "I was told we're to wait here until more people come. The overseer has left for the moment to procure some things. He'll be right back. Of course the fo-good man has been gone for awhile now." the young man said with a sophisticated tone, and it was clear he was a bit of a snotty jerk. At least by standards of being a prep kid. At least he wasn't being too big of an asshole...yet. Now to just wait for more people.

 

[Xaldin]

Hetza Helevu, a woman of 24 with brown hair tied in a long thick braid underneath her cap and piercing red eyes. She wore what looked to be, aside from the tank top, a black combat uniform with a pair of larger than average combat knives holstered to her waist and had a scorpion tattoo with a knife through it on her left shoulder. These aspects were hidden however, by a large black overcoat that concealed her body from the neck down. It was far too cold tonight to be walking around in a tank top after all. What was not hidden, however, was her sniper rifle strapped to her back. Unfortunately that was too big to conceal, but given she would be meeting all, or at least most, of the masters face to face she wasn't coming unprepared. They weren't suppose to do battle at the cathedral, but she wasn't going to be the one caught off guard if someone tried to eliminate the competition early.

"I do think such a large weapon is a bit much, My Lady."

Hetza rolled her eyes. Her Servant, the 'Assassin', spoke beside her from spirit form. She was...less than pleased with her Servant. She had only known him for a few hours now and seemed to regard him with disdain. She grunted to herself as she recalled their conversation not long after summoning.

The summoning ritual was successful, and before Hetza stood a bearded man of Asian descent in a unique robe she quickly identified as Chinese. He had some sort of tiny hat like that of royalty, dark hair, and seemed to be in his 30's or 40's. As she was representing the Huangfu family, who are also Chinese, it made sense their catalyst would grant her such a hero.

"I am the Servant...Assassin." the hero spoke, almost sounding unsure of his own class. "I shall offer my services to grant you the Holy Grail, and all that you desire. Hear me, my Master, and accept the contract!"

"I, Hetza Helevu, accept." She didn't hesitate for a second. She eyed the Servant up and down. He didn't exactly LOOK like an Assassin but his clothes didn't scream any other class either. Which isn't a bad thing, keeping his class ambiguous can come in handy. "Now then, Assassin. Who are you, who have you assassinated, and what are your capabilities?"

"My true name is Cao Cao, courtesy name Mengde. I am regarded as the Hero of Chaos and the King of Wei, my era's largest kingdom." Assassin spoke proudly as he introduced himself, then began to stroke his beard in thought of how to answer the second question. "I have assassinated...no one."

"...No one?" Hetza blinked. "What do you mean 'no one'?"

"Well, I tried to. It didn't work out as planned and I was talked down by a friend, haha." Assassin seemed to be enjoying himself after seeing his Master flustered. "I suppose my target did eventually die from my actions. I proposed a coalition to remove him from power, which eventually lead to his assassination by another. It seems the Grail decided that was enough to qualify for Assassin. How curious! I had thought I was summoned as Saber or perhaps Rider. Ha!"

Hetza was in stark contrast to her Servant, who seemed to be laughing at the whole turn of events. She, on the other hand, was twitching in annoyance. "So you're telling me I have an Assassin that can't assassinate."

"Hm?" His laughter stifled, he suddenly adopted a more serious tone. "Are you displeased, my Master?"

"That's one word for it, yes." This caused her Servant to frown.

"Then perhaps I may change your disposition once you hear of my abilities..." Assassin began to go into a detailed explanation of his abilities, sometimes being sidetracked into regaling past stories of his exploits before being told to move on. By the end of it, she had a clear grasp on his abilities. And how risky of a Servant he was.

"Your skills, much like your exploits, are too related to luck...how can that be relied on in battle?" Assassin shrugged in response, causing Hetza to bury her head in her palm, which just got another laugh out of him.

"It's not so difficult. We simply need to take our good fortune and make our own path to the heavens." Saying this, Assassin outstretched his hand as a sword materialized in his grasp.

"To the heavens?"

"That's right." Assassin smirked as the sword raised his arm and pointed out the window. "Tell me, what is in that direction?"

"It's..." Hetza thought for a moment, visualizing the map of Fuyuki City she had memorized. "The cathedral. The masters are due there for a meeting before the war will truly commence. It should start in just a couple hours."

"Then it seems we're already on our path, My Lady. Let's go."

She understood the uses of her Servant but while she imagined there were worse ones, she wasn't exactly satisfied. And she was becoming more annoyed that he started calling her 'my lady' as oppose to 'master'. Her steady pace was now resembling stomping more than walking.

"At least consider leaving it with me, My Lady." Assassin spoke in an almost amused tone, seeming to enjoy the state his master was in. "It's rude to show up for peace talks brandishing your weapon."

"This isn't a peace talk, Servant. We'll be fighting as soon as we leave the cathedral grounds." She glanced from side to side, "It wouldn't surprise me if others were planning to attack the moment we leave the premises. Besides, you'd look weird holding a gun."

With an invisible shrug, Assassin relented and simply accompanied his Master in silence. They were nearing the cathedral.

Meanwhile from the opposite direction another duo was also approaching the church. Shintani Tsushiya's most notable feature was the abundant amount of scars and burn marks across her body, one having sealed her eye shut. She was a 21 year old woman with long black hair, tied into a massive pony tail at the neck and reaching down to her knees. She wore a unique black attire, most uncommon from what you would consider normal. It had a number of belts, one detached sleeve, leggings, a long pair of boots, and a pair of earrings. Her command seal showed on her left shoulder, still exposing a fair amount of skin to the cold, but wearing at least a scarf. The cold didn't seem to bother her, as if she were naturally heating herself.

Beside her walked Berserker, in plain view of all, eyes covered by a mask, beasts fur over his shoulder, deep blue hair, and wearing blue tights and shoulder pauldrons. He showed no emotion, but appeared to be in a good mood...of sorts. He had a smile spread across his face but not for any particular reason. Perhaps he was just excited as he neared other powerful Servants.

"You sure seem happy, Berserker." Shintani clasped her hands behind her back, staring up at her Servant as they walked. "Are you looking forward to meeting new people too?"

"[BCOLOR=#000000]Well, in a sense.[/BCOLOR]" Berserker merely let out a low grunt in response, but Shintani seemed to understand. Or at least acted like she did.

"Yeah! There's gonna be a whole cornucopia of masters and Servants at the cathedral. I wonder how many we'll get to fight?"

"[BCOLOR=#000000]Hahaha[/BCOLOR]! [BCOLOR=#000000]I'll rip through all of them[/BCOLOR]!"

"Heheheh, I hope it's a lot too!" The girl smiled cheerfully. From two weeks ago when she had summoned Berserker, they had gotten along great. At least as far as she could tell. She had been ecstatic at summoning him, gave him a great big hug, and told him they'd beat up everyone to win the Holy Grail. Berserker didn't slam her into the ground in response, so he seemed to approve. She had seen Berserker display his power in practice but there was a lot she didn't know about him yet. Fortunately she doesn't mind that and actually trusts him, despite him never uttering a real word.

"Oh hey, lookit! I think that's a master over there." She pointed at a black clad figure coming up as they neared the cathedral's door step. So she decided to wave hello. "H~EEEEEY!"

Hetza stopped cold, more than surprised at such a cheery response to what was obviously another master. "Is she being serious..? She's just parading her Servant around...and he's smiling as much as she is. And she's scarred all over her body... Who the hell did I just run into?"

While Hetza stopped, Shintani choose to approach her with Berserker dragging not far behind. "Hey there! I'm Shintani, nice to meet you! I'm the master of Berserker, how about you?"

Hetza was caught off guard by the master suddenly revealing they had freaking Berserker right next to them, which made that smile he was sporting suddenly much more unnerving, and willingly exposed her Servant's class. She was either very confident in his abilities or a total air head. Or both. Before Hetza could choose how to react, Assassin materialized and spoke up instead.

"Good evening, my dear. This is Hetza, master of Assa--ow." He stopped speaking as soon as Hetza's heel drove into his foot. Something like that wouldn't hurt a Servant of course, he had just reacted out of reflex. He noticed Hetza was twitching in anger again and believed it would be best to not push her any further for now.

Shintani showed a mild interest at Assassin's reveal. "So you're Assassin, huh. That's cool." Assassin, no offense intended, was the Servant she had the least interest in. Berserker didn't seem to mind though and continued to smile.

Hetza sighed. "Yes, I'm the master of Assassin. Pay no attention to my Servant. Call me Hellshock."

"Oh that sounds awesome!" Shintani's eye seemed to glow. Paying more attention to Hetza, she noticed the sniper rifle over her back. "Wow, and you've got a gun! I didn't think magi used those."

"I-it's not that 'awesome' or anything..." Hetza was blushing, looking somewhat demure for the first time since arriving here. "Anyways, smart magi bring weapons to war. This just happens to be mine."

"Oh, um, yeah!" Shintani nodded, but felt a bit ashamed for not having brought something to class as a 'weapon'. "I, uh...guess my body is my weapon!"

Hetza cocked her head, not fully understanding. But she didn't intend to prob her out in the middle of the cold any longer. "I'm going in the cathedral." With that simple statement she approached the doors. She heard an "Oh, me too!" from just behind and found Shintani was now walking beside her. The two masters were greeted by a dark haired priest, told they had to leave their Servants outside, and Hetza was told her sniper rifle wasn't allowed.

With a groan, she tossed her rifle to Assassin. "If anyone asks; you're Archer. And if I come out and you're telling stories of your past around a camp fire, I'm using a command spell to make you cut off your tongue." Hetza pushed the doors open and headed inside, followed by a slightly confused Shintani.

Assassin and Berserker stared in silence as the doors closed. Assassin adjusted the rifle over his shoulder and smiled to Berserker. "We have some lovely masters, don't we?"

"[BCOLOR=#000000]Yep.[/BCOLOR]"

Inside the cathedral, Shintani set her scarf to hang on a coat rack and removed her shoes. Hetza however only hung up her coat. With her coat off, her combat knives were on full display at her waist. "Er, I think you were meant to leave those outside too. And you're actually suppose to remove your sh--"

"No." Stepping past in her combat boots, she followed a sign on where to go and entered a larger room. There were two other magi already inside, both males around the same age. Hetza made no mention to them and instead simply moved aside for Shintani to enter.

"Hi! I'm Shintani Tsushiya, master of Berserker!" She appeared and exclaimed her title once again, causing Hetza to face-palm. "So who are you two? What are you guys masters of?"

@VanceXentan

 

[Blighted_Agent]

Sygila had never been in Fuyuki before. She had made sure to ask her mom for information on the place, so she knew she was on the right track up the hill towards the designated meeting place, but it had still felt a little unreal when she had walked all the way from the Miyama district. She'd kept Saber astralized for the majority of the trajectory, but now that they were getting close to a territory full of Servants, she was feeling a little more apprehensive than before.

When she had learned the basics for the Grail War, she had put her Atlas contacts to use like never before. Being the underdog there had meant that even though she wasn't taken seriously, she could move along Atlas and its information network without being questioned or restricted. This had paid off majorly when she had come into contact with an excavation at Cornwall; Gila was certain that a hero from the Arthurian Cycle would be the clearest path to victory. While she fervently desired a Saber, her initial predictions with the Sands of Delphi had estimated that she had, inexplicably, a high chance to get an Archer. Undaunted, she 'borrowed' from the excavation one of their discoveries: a lock of hair. With it, she had called a sorrowful, beautiful (much to her chagrin) knight to her side. She was actually surprised when she was informed that she had gotten a Saber.

Trying to calm herself, Sygila took some deep breaths, but abruptly came to a stop when she observed that the church was in full view. And, lo and behold, there they were, two Servants. They couldn't have been anything else, not with the chill they had sent down her spine just by looking at them. Her throat had gone dry, and she tried to steel herself holding her two hands together, so tightly her knuckles had gone white, and didn't even notice that a drizzle had started.

"... S, Saber." Trying to sound as even-toned as possible, Sygila commanded Saber to materialize. The instant he did, and she could see his red hair and lonely visage, she felt more confident. But! She couldn't let him win just like that. "You're a knight. Escort and guard your lady Master to the Church's entrance!" And, following that, a whispered, barely heard "... please...!"

-

From another direction, a beanie-wearing man calmly went about his way, using a closed umbrella as a walking stick. Oliver Rockford, Jr., didn't seem to be in much of a hurry, his Servant currently astralized and hovering behind him. Their idle chit-chat currently involved talking about their lost ladies whom they so admired, but mostly it had been a quiet journey from the rented apartment to the path that led to the church.

The path itself had been quite solitary, with only a few people here and there. Oliver had gotten to flirt a bit with a few women along the way, had managed to get a phone number, even. Lancer had quietly observed and amused himself with dry commentary. The two had gotten along from the start; such was the power women could exercise upon men, even and especially when they were unreachable.

Along the way, Oliver looked towards the sky and quietly but decisively intoned "Lluvia". There were a few clouds already so gathering a few more would just take a few minutes, and once they did, the rain would follow. Oliver prized information and he wanted to be kept up to date on the happenings around the church and towards the rest of the city while he was inside. With a smile and a cough, he opened his umbrella and kept walking.

When he reached the church, the light drizzle had already begun. He could see and feel a few servants off to his left, and... a girl too. A Master, with how the redheaded Servant had shown up out of nowhere next to her. With a quiet sigh, Oliver approached the church's entrance. Upon being told that Lancer had to stay outside, Oliver requested that he did so. Folding his umbrella, he went into the church, barely remembering to remove his shoes, then finding a pew to sit by himself, nodding to those present...

-

Rider was astralized behind his moody Master, ready to materialize should the need arise. In spite of having been informed by the Grail of the circumstances, he could not help but feel wonder at being so far from home in such a different place. The mediator's idea of a gathering struck him as somewhat naive, but he would participate nonetheless.

Speaking of which, the Church was coming up, and already he could sense and see to his right some of the participants. Deciding it would be prudent, he 'leaned' a little towards his Master, saying... "Master. We arrive soon. What are your my orders?"

 

[VanceXentan]

@Xaldin @Blighted_Agent

Togami looked at the women whoym had entered the room and had been about to give them both the same words he had given Leon. However he stood there baffled by what he had saw in front of him. He looked at the women as Leon did with a bit of confusion on their faces. Togami, none to intimidated by Hellshock's weapons at ready, simply glared at Shintani with distaste. "Are you serious? We're here to meet the priest not give away compromising information. Why should I trust YOU with the knowledge of which servant I have picked? Especially in the sight of an armed thug? We may be having our magics repressed but that doesn't mean I've lost my brain." Togami growled as he adjusted the glasses on his eyes. He then adjusted his coat as he looked at the other person who entered he gave him a curt nod before he let him go back to find one of the pews that had been brought into the room to let them sit down. "Yeah hey guys I'm not completely on board with this guy but yeah you really shouldn't be handling that info out to others. Unless you're in an alliance. Then that may change some stuff. But yeah welcome take a seat and take a load off. Or stand around. Either way we're waiting on the overseer to see why we're here. Name's Leon nice to meet you two." Leon said casually or as casually as he could given the circumstances he was in. He wasn't exactly thrilled about the situation suddenly getting a little more tense with the addition of weapons into a neutral area but he kept his cool. He was talented enough in hand to hand combat to hold his own and if it came to it...he could try Archer.

====
Archer wandered around in his spiritual form looking around for any traps, or things of interest he may collect for his vault. He found nothing which he expected the priests weren't stupid enough to leave out stuff like that. The area around them use to be rather barren but he had read up on Fuyuki before coming here and found out that they urbanized the area a bit more. Clearly as there were enough building around them to stand on top of it. It was nice to be able to hide in certain places. Not that he needed to hide from people. More that they should hide from HIM. Well actually he wasn't really all that scary it was his strength that they should be worried about. Archer's Master didn't know him very well but Archer knew himself well, a little too well, and he knew just how powerful he was in comparison to some people. It was scary to know he had that much power. He didn't want to abuse it, and he knew Enkidu would frown on him doing that to others. Besides being a jerk sucked. He knew he was a king in his past life but he hated doing ill on others everyone deserved a chance. Justice, and the well being of the innocent and honest were a top concern to Archer at any point in his life.

Of course however he really shouldn't be so introspecting of himself at all times he had a job to do! His bro was counting on him to do something! Well....not really he just didn't want to be left out. He could find an ice cream shop and get something from there if he wanted to with the spare time he had. But he wanted to stick close to Leon just to be safe...besides he didn't know the way back home by himself without using his noble phantasm. He didn't like using that ability all too often he felt like it invaded people's rights, and privacy. But in this war it let him have an insurmountable advantage...that his older self would abuse if he had it. But he knew better than that mean version of him. He would not abuse his power!

Then it caught onto him that his senses were picking up onto two other servants. 'Well I guess it won't hurt...to say hi' Archer grumbled as he moved his spiritual body around and moved over towards the group of servants gathering together. Archer made himself comfortable as he sat down near them. Archer appeared next to them casually as if he had just been playing hide and seek with a bunch of friends. He turned his head to them and he smiled at the two people. "Hey there guys how are you this evening?" Archer said simply. He was aware that one of his skills was active but it usually was he wondered if they could repel it or if they'd be like everyone else who was aware of him. He wasn't trying to trick them or force them to adore him...it kind of just happened wherever he went.

 

[Xaldin]

"Call me Hellshock." Hetza responded dully to Leon's introduction. Judging from his and the other magus' reaction they didn't approve of coming here with weapons. She didn't fully understand why, this was a WAR after all, and this is a very vulnerable situation. Hetza had expected everyone to come with some sort of weapon, concealed or otherwise. If they don't have any, then they must be dangerous enough without weapons. But so long as she's not attacked she had no intention of actually using her knives.

"Nice to meet you too..." As Hetza was eyeing up the other masters and coming to her own conclusions about them, Shintani seemed to be...moping. She felt like the new kid introducing herself only to be scolded for it. "I won't tell anyone else..."

Hetza rolled her eyes and spoke as she went to sit in a nearby pew. "As you should. It's not as big a deal for you since you have Berserker--one look at him and anyone would have figured out his class--but it's very important to the rest of us. Knowing the opponent's class means you can prepare an attack plan well before fighting them and narrows down the Servants possible identities considerably." She crossed her arms, then leaned back and turned her head away as if in an attempt to end her part in the conversation.

This was completely lost on Shintani. "Ooooh, I see! Thanks Hell-chan!" Shintani practically leaped over to Hetza, her mood having suddenly gone back to her cheery bubbly self. She almost looked like she was coming in for a hug.

This triggered all of Hetza's survival instincts, dropping her composure in favor of scooting further down the pew. "O-okay let's not do that! And let's not call me 'Hell-chan' either!"

Shintani just laughed and entered a conversation about what to call her, despite Hetza's many protests to just use 'Hellshock'. They seemed to be getting along in their own way.

Outside the cathedral, Assassin and Berserker moved under some nearby trees to escape the rain and were engaging in a very one sided conversation. Which didn't seem to bother Assassin as he was proving to be quite the chatterbox when left without his master. He stopped his chatter however with the appearance of an adorable little kid. He was obviously a Servant by his way of appearance, which left Assassin wondering who he could possibly be. He had never even heard of a child hero before. But rather than think about that he found himself strangely enamored with the young boy.

"Why hello there, young man!" he said unnecessarily cheerily, "I was just enjoying conversation with my fellow Servant here."

"[BCOLOR=#000000]This guy just will not shut up...[/BCOLOR]" Berserker let out a standard growl from his unamused faced. He looked at the new arrival but the only thing that seemed to register for him was that he'd prefer to stab Assassin than the kid.

"Not much for conversation, that one." Assassin shrugged, "But a good listener. Tell me young man, do you have an appreciation for the fine arts? I've always be quite enthralled by music and the like myself." He was thinking about going on about a story he had from his past to entertain the little Servant but fought the urge and kept his conversation topics to things more universal.

 

[Skilletzorz]

By now Tristan was used to Sygila's commanding tone, a tone she tested somewhat thoroughly while they established what the master, servant relationship truly was. Tristan was to be her guard in some war of heroes across all of human history, and he was summoned by some ironic twist thanks to youthful indiscretion of his own. Still no matter, what was done was done and it would surely be worth the adventure if he could stomach the foul nature of the war.

"While subtlety has it's merits, I can understand your concerns. As you wish."

Stepping in front of his young ward he glanced across the congregation and began assessing the area, for escape paths and retreats, but mostly as a formality. Modern streets seemed to be designed for ease of movement as opposed to security and in numbers, a free for all would provide ample opportunity for him to protect his master, even against the ruffian with the rifle, it was hard to see how things would go awry unless they were all working together.

"Judging from the rabble I'd wager we're late rather than lost. Master, I'll be waiting out here my young mistress."

Tristan guided Sygila to the door with a wink, before turning to the others, propping himself against the church's door frame with a smile. No reason to be rude, even to enemies right?

"Well met. I trust we're all here for the 'festivities' tonight?"

 

[VanceXentan]

@Xaldin
@Skilletzorz

====
"Oh so you enjoy art works too? I've got a ton of them myself from all sorts of time periods. Only the best pieces that I could get my hands on though. After all I would be a poor collector if I just started to let junk clog up my stuff right? I mean people try hard on their work of course but that doesn't mean all art is equal." Archer said with a smile as he looked up at the mysterious servant with the rifle. He had to try not to take up his instinct of finding out all he could about the man. It was hard not looking into the future when all he was told at this age was to seek more knowledge. Of course it'd be smart to do so right now but it wouldn't be entirely fair given the circumstances. "I also love food, weapons, and music! I like anything iconic, and cool to be honest. I even have stuff like hydra meat, and pressure cookers! It's cool stuff! You have to keep an eye out at all times for the best of the crop when searching for objects. Even my own weapons I use are the top of the line quality. No fakes here if I could brag a bit. You know I have to say that weapon doesn't suit you. You don't look like your comfortable with it? Is your master insisting you use it?" Archer asked nonchalantly as he peered at the rifle without any sense of dread. Modern weapons were such a pitiful excuse for weapons. To be completely honest he knew that the weapons such as that were only made because humans had to keep up with each other. He always did prefer a well crafted sword, or lance over a rifle. Too much plastic, and not enough personal touches on them now. It was always cookie cutter stuff. "Oh hey there Mister! Yeah I guess you could say we're all here for that sort of thing. Though we're not allowed inside for...obvious reasons we'd destroy the church if one of us didn't get along. Of course I wouldn't let that sort of thing happen regardless...sooo...yeah. But how are you doing? You're master treating you well?" Archer asked to the man whom had walked over to them he could sense they were a servant obvious enough by their outfit and the way they held themselves.

====

"...Are you taking this situation seriously? Come on now you must have some sort of professionalism. This is a event for masters for gods sakes! We're going to be killing each other by tomorrow if things go wrong! Now look here ladies, and gentleman we're here because the overseer asked us too. Anyone of us here could be looking to break the rules at any second for a cheap kill. You have to be wary...I don't know why I'm telling you all this I could honestly care less." grumbled Togami as he pressed he glasses up on his nose and sighed before turning his back to the group and moving over to lean against a wall. "You two seem really casual with each other. You wouldn't have happened to have known each other before this would you?" Leon said carefully as he examined the master of beserker not sure if he could consider he a real threat. More so than the armed woman who seemed to be less threatening in casual talk then she was in a combat situation. He tried to seem casual as he leaned up against his seat. He tried not to let his eyes wander to the usual places a guy his age would look at. The armed woman who called herself Hellshock would probably castrate him if he tried, and the cheerful girl's scars...were unsettling at best and she was probably self conscious about them as it stood. He didn't need to make the situation any worse.

 

[Skilletzorz]

"Better than expected all things considered. I've definitely had worse arrangements regarding my partners."

As expected, the other servants seemed to be rather relaxed given the circumstances. War was an inevitability but not necessarily something that required undue hardship, they would soon face enough of it so as not to need to add anymore onto the pile and heroes that have seen the ravages of war likely knew that more than anyone. Still one thing bothered him as he looked over the scene, the arrogant young man, the grizzled old fighter it was clear there was something amiss with the young lad.

"Judging from that, heroic spirits come in all shapes and sizes don't they...?"

 

[Blighted_Agent]

The moody woman just smiled vindictively and shooed away the general, "Go and socialize a little, Rider. Find out what you can! Never know what kind of vulnerabilities you'll learn in these meetings. I'm going inside, fucking rain is gonna mess up my hair." So saying, she went inside, straightening out her hair, just waiting by a column. There seemed to be an argument of sorts going on, even though the a man with an umbrella was not taking part, just quietly sitting on a pew. He looked like he would fall asleep any minute.

The congregation was quite diverse, truth be told. She expected as much, but seeing it in the flesh was still refreshing somehow. A girl was trying to make sure she wasn't too wet, squeezing out her clothes while huddled in a corner... Time to start digging around.

"Seems I'm late to the party. Y'all my call me Hane." So she said with a smile and lazy wave. Turning a little to the obviously disgruntled Togashi, she just winked at him. "Tsk tsk, you need to relax, big boy. Don't want to get wrinkles any earlier than you would."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rider didn't quite get his Master. He knew he objected to her general character and methods, even if they were... effective. Still, it seemed too crass to simply show up amidst a group of heroes to try and pry some intel out of them. He knew it was quite valuable, but, everything at its time.

After nodding slightly at his retreating Master, he looked up at the sky for a moment with a frown, before slowly approaching the small congregation outside. He managed to hear the comment from the redheaded man, obviously a knight both from attire and presentation... absentmindedly making his stone dance between his fingers, he called out in agreement, to let the others know of his presence; not that they didn't already, but, formalities were formalities.

"Quite right, my crimson-haired sir. I must admit, out of all the possibilities, a child is what I expected least. Greetings to all."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sygila wasn't very happy at the moment, what with the rain that caught her by surprise before she made it into the church, the creepy girl full of scars and the super serious person openly carrying a rifle, the downer guy who seemed was too into this... at least the other one didn't look so bad, and the old guy with the umbrella seemed like the kind of kindly old guy who'd offer to bake cookies in a stove with wood he chopped himself. Things didn't look up much for her when the woman showed up out of nowhere; she seemed friendly enough but something about the newcomer unsettled her.

Sygila actually caught herself slightly opening the canister of the Sands of Delphi at the small of her back. Was she that nervous? No! I have to remain calm and cool... she thought, fidgeting a little. She figured she might as well try for some chit-chat, and turned towards the old man, a shy smile on her face. "It's better to keep things civil, right...? Even if we're enemies, we don't have to be assholes to each other!"

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oliver had not expected the little lady to talk at all. He was rather content to amuse himself with the interactions even if that fellow with the glasses was kind of a spoilsport. Still, she was right - civility was a rare commodity that he had best preserve. If the situation allowed. Looking her over, she wasn't quite his type. The brazen woman who insisted on being called 'Hellshock' for some reason, however... He couldn't say much about the other, but the scars were beautiful in their own way. And the newly arrived one, oh my!

Coughing a little, he smiled back and nodded at the poor little thing, she was trying to hide her nervousness. "I must agree, young one. This old man is called Oliver, at your service for the moment...." so saying, he absentmindedly entertained some thoughts about his fellow competitors. They were a rowdy bunch, that much was certain. Shintani and Hellshock seemed close somehow, like that Leon person had suggested, but he didn't quite think of them as a team, just from what he saw... Addressing them directly, he said "Ladies, the sour fellow with the glasses is right about being professional here, but don't sweat the details too much."

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lancer, after being sent way by his Master, had not been sure about what he wanted to do next. He had a feeling his Master would not approve of making enemies so early in the competition, and Lancer knew himself too well to trust his temper with a group of potential enemies.
They were a merry lot, for better or worse, and the courtyard outside the church seemed to be attracting ever more beings; he'd seen the new arrival drop of his woman Master before casually approaching the group. That woman, there was something about her... With a shrug, Lancer groaned, gently slapped himself twice and convinced himself to at least greet the bunch.

With slow, deliberate steps, he came from the side, and called out, "Quite the gathering of heroes we now have, yes? I greet you, warriors."

 

[VanceXentan]

Archer puffed out his cheeks and crossed his arms he really wasn't expecting to be admonished by these people! Why the heck were they picking on him? Just because he was fun sized doesn't mean they could disregard the king of all heroes so easily! "Hey I'll have you people know that I am a powerful heroic spirit! I may not look like it but I pack a wallop! Come on please be nice; I'm trying to be nice! Why can't we all just have a normal conversation?" Archer said as his eyes got watery. He didn't like pulling out that trick but it usually got adults to listen to him. "I just wanted to meet all of you before I have to fight you. I'd hate to think bad of me..." Archer said bowing his head and pulling his legs closer to him. Jerk faces...how dare they! Where were their own regard for other heroic spirits pride.

===
A dark grey haired old man, and eyes walked into the room. Togami immediately broke off whatever he had been about to say to the newcomers as he pointed his finger at the older gentleman. He had a cross around his neck, a white set of monk's robes on, and a pair of glasses on. He was aging and well on his way to probably his sixties but he was still hanging onto a small part of his health as he looked healthy enough to walk with ease.
"Hello Togami, and hello friends. I welcome you to the first gathering of masters. Today I will be revealing to you some rules-" the old man began to say as Togami cut him off. "Hold off a moment you old geezer. First off you took forever to actually get back, and you don't apologize? Second off not all the masters are gathered here yet! What on earth could be the point of talking to us all like this without more people arriving?" Togami growled as the old man nodded his head. "Fair point Togami. I apologize. And to everyone here I offer my sincerest apology for my rudeness. I am after all the High Overseer of this Holy Grail War...or rather the 3rd Great Holy Grail War if what my friends tell me is correct. There are signs that more than seven masters have appeared you know. Which means there will be some rule changes. So I will wait a little longer before I go on. Please make yourselves comfortable."the elder man said as he nodded his head. Leon took one last disgusted look at Togami before moving back to his seat. He was less than pleased about how that went downhill so quickly. "Hey Big Bro I feel like your a bit out of it. You ok?" Archer asked as Leon replied to his servant that he was perfectly fine. Just a bit pissed off. "I'm surprised the young lad isn't here yet...Maybe he isn't well." the old man muttered as he looked around the room. "Also there's no need to introduce yourselves if you don't want to. Togami may indeed be a bit of a rude young man but he is correct in the fact that you are all enemies like it or not that is the truth."

 

[Xaldin]

In response to Togami, Hetza nodded. "He has a point. We're going to be at each others throats the second we're beyond the church's domain. Making friends won't do us any favors."

Shintani however chose to ignore Togami and respond to Leon. "Nah, we just met outside the church. But she looks strong, so I like her. Aren't you strong, Hellshock?"

"Huh?" Hetza blinked. "I guess, but all of us are strong. I mean, we wouldn't be here otherwise."

"AH!" Shintani's eyes light up at this, as if something had just clicked in her mind. "THAT'S RIGHT!"


Hetza sighed, but before she could say anything people started coming through the door. More masters. She made sure to pay attention to each individual that came through the door. Shintani did as well, but for entirely different reasons. Hetza wanted to see everything she could determine from them as soon as possible, any hints as to what they may be capable of, personalities, anything that can be used to her advantage. Shintani however, was just interested in seeing the other masters and took random guesses at who they were masters of.

Following that, the Overseer entered. Hetza cocked an eyebrow at his mention of there being more than seven masters and rule changes. 'More potential enemies...great. But I'm curious as to how the rules will accompany the additional Servants. Is this Grail more powerful now? I had assumed seven was the limit on the number of Servants it could bring but... Agh, my intel is way off now.'

Hetza sighed, crossing her arms and deciding to just sit back and wait for more of an explanation. Shintani did the same, mimicking Hetza exactly. She may have been trying to behave more "master-like" now that the Overseer was around so she simply copied the nearest master's mannerisms.

Assassin smiled at the golden boy as he went on about his collection. He was intrigued, but also extremely puzzled as to who could have things such as "hydra meat". He had never heard of a child hero before, much less one that had as much as he claimed to. Before he could answer his query about the utterly unfitting sniper rifle around his shoulder, more Servants approached them as they guided their masters inside.

"Good day, fellow Servants. We've got quite an interesting collection of people...no women though. That's a shame." Assassin chuckled to himself, but was genuinely disappointed. "But at least we have a nice collection of female masters!"

"[BCOLOR=#000000]So many warriors to fight...[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=#000000]I can't wait![/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=#000000]I want to fight now![/BCOLOR]" Berserker was growling incoherently, almost as if he was trying to contain himself. His teeth clenched and his fists tightened, but he kept himself down and simply smiled menacingly instead.

"See, Berserker agrees." Assassin gave a thumbs up to Berserker. Berserker didn't seem to react/care.

 

[Skilletzorz]

"Oh I believe you, children make far better heroes and soldiers than any grown man. They tend to be far more cold, and unfeeling than adults when push comes to shove, and what they lose in strength they make up for in adaptability..."

Tristan shrugged and looked over the new arrival. Listening to Assassin chime in he groaned and shot a dismissive gesture to the man. Clowns, monsters and soldiers, capped off with a child's power. On one hand he had left the knights of he round once things had become such a farce but on the other, the reminders of home were hard to ignore. There was something reassuring about the fact that their crew was so misshapen, and motley that gave him some assurance of success.

"I suppose eye candy has it's merits but until we win, there won't be a chance to see anyone worth the trouble..."

 

[Blighted_Agent]

Rider couldn't help but be amused by the easterner's demeanor and speech - the man was far too easygoing. It made for a good change of pace. The redhead's comment, however, was spot on; in his life, he'd commanded his fair share of younger soldiers and they could be terrifying like no others. It would be prudent to keep an eye on this golden-haired child... oh those eyes were absolutely adorable: it was the oldest trick in the book and Rider was surprised for a moment at how he'd nearly fallen for it. No need for unnecessary antagonism, though. "Rest assured, young hero. Puppy-dog eyes or not, you are a hero in your own right and will be treated as such. Courtesy is already extended among those present! Even from our speech-impaired companion, I am sure."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Lancer was pleased to know that Berserker's companion seemed to appreciate women as much as he did, even if it was channeled very differently from his own manner; he offered the man a meaningful nod. And speaking of Berserker, the man was giving off an unmistakable aura. Arms crossed, Lancer smiled back at the blue-clad man. He could recognize such a smile, such a pose; it spoke volumes more than the man's voice ever could even were it not reduced to growls. How does he communicate with his Master? Many modern humans are not as adept at reading body language..., Lancer wondered, then spoke towards him, "I can feel your anticipation, Berserker. We'll be able to cut loose in time."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Even more people, what a drag. But! It might work out for the better; that means others can get to killing each other and helping weed out the crowd., so thought Hane while the reverend explained this important news update. She'd have to keep tabs on more people, which was a pain, but, well, that's how things were. The only thing that mattered was how these new circumstances could benefit her. "Yo, priest. You sure everybody's gonna show up to the summons? Not everybody is as classy and law-abiding as us. I'd hate to think some scummy shithead wants to take advantage of our convenient gathering."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oliver listened closely to the Overseer and let out a sigh, scratching the back of his neck for a moment. The news made things more complicated, even if it meant some more ladies to behold and perhaps get to know. He could only hope that they were less sticks in the mud than the one with the rifle. Opting not to say much, he just smiled at the Overseer and nodded, then leaned back on the pew, tuning into the rain with a quiet incantation to see if he could discern any approaching figures...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sygila wasn't happy with the news that a second set of participants was now in the running. It made things more complicated, multivariate... With a pout, she just listened to the Overseer, and almost felt tempted to stick out her tongue at that Togami guy, what a dick. But no, she's the one who was preaching civility, and the kindly old guy had agreed! Maybe she could start with the more friendly of the others... Sygila move a little so that the scarred girl was now more easily viewed and she gave a wave towards her. If she reacted positively, Sygila would then say... "Uhm, nice to meet you! What are you so curious about? I'm Gila."

 

[Xaldin]

Shintani turned as another girl waved for her attention. She cheerfully waved back with a smile to match. "Gila, huh? That's a funny name, hehe! I'm Shintani! Master of B--mfffruf." She suddenly found her words muffled as a gloved hand wrapped around her mouth.

"What did we JUST talk about!? You don't. Say. Your Servants. Class." Hetza was half annoyed and half astonished by the sheer airheadedness Shintani displayed.

"Oh yeah! Thanks, Shock-chan."

"Hellshock."

"Anyways, Gila, you wanted to know what I was curious about?" Shintani grinned, as if she were telling some sort of secret. Hetza merely sighed and returned to her arms crossed position while doing her best to ignore the conversation. "It's all the MASTERS! And their Servants too! There's so many ways they could fight and their Servant could be ANYTHING! It's like, um...getting a box of mystery chocolate and trying to guess what's inside! Yeah, that!"

To Shintani, every master was a new experience to find in battle. There was a certain thrill she got from it, like if your favorite hobby also induced massive amounts of adrenaline. Magi fight so differently that you never knew what you could be fighting against so to her it really was like a box of unmarked chocolate.

"Ah haha, perhaps so." Assassin smiled to the knight, whom he could only assume was Saber. He appeared the most Saber-like anyways. "But part of the allure of women is their unattainability. And it's all the more reason to win." He scanned the Servants surrounding him. Quite a varied crew, but missing one. He had a suggestion he wished to make public, but he thought it better to wait for the last Servant to come first.

Berserker didn't seem to notice Rider's mention of him and instead looked to Lancer. He cocked his head to the side, as if curious. "[BCOLOR=#000000]Hmmmm?[/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=#000000]Well, you look like fun![/BCOLOR] [BCOLOR=#000000]Someone who lived as old as you look must have some skill.[/BCOLOR]" He growled in response, but seemed somewhat more tamed now. The notion of soon being able to fight pleased him greatly, though it was hard to tell on a guy that was already smiling.

 

[VanceXentan]

@Xaldin @Blighted_Agent @Skilletzorz

Togami merely snickered at the woman's glare at him it clearly amused him to a point where he thought of her as less than significant. "This war is going to end pitifully..." Togami said simply as the Overseer looked at Togami indifferently. The overseer introduced himself further, "I am Father Walter and in this bizarre turn of events there have been more masters this turn around. There were supposed to be more command seals given to all of you."

"Six in total if I was correct however instead the grail has opted to split the command seals into three per master this way around. An associate of ours has confirmed this for us and she is not usually wrong about this sort of deal. As I said there have been wars like this were other masters have shown up. Once during the American Civil War. And again towards the middle of the second world war. I will not go into detail suffice to say both sides of those wars had their traitors, and those who sought after the holy grail for their own ends." Walter commented as he walked over slowly to the couch and sat down slowly on it. He breathed in and out deeply. "Yes indeed. I recall that there was an event like that during the second world war but the American Civil War? That's the first I've heard of it." Togami grumbled as Leon spoke up.
"Same. My grand father never told me about any of that stuff. But it doesn't really matter at the end of the day doesn't it? We're still all after the grail. It makes little difference about how, or why there are more but there are. Be it they're a bunch of fakers, or were chosen by the grail itself makes no difference." Leon added casually as suddenly the sound of foot steps came in and a rather well off gentleman walked into the room. "Ah hello Takumi. I assume the little lord is not feeling up to coming himself?" asked the gentleman as the man nodded. "My little master has been asked to refrain from meeting with the other masters by his grand father. I am to come in his place and listen on his behalf. Nothing more or less. I am neither master, nor servant of the grail but I am still a supporter of my master." the man said as he bowed to the group assembled. "Ah so he's turned into a master as well? It seems that I have slipped up." Togami grumbled as he put his hand to his chin still he looked less concerned than he should over the fact that another master had appeared. "Too those assembled however I'd like to inform all of you that the Holy Grail has dictated that you form teams to this end. It wants you to work together. I will wait a little longer before I give you the stipulations to this rule."

"I have waited long enough young Togami anyone else who seeks to hear my words can come see me at a later time. As of this moment the wish shall not only be one impossible wish for one servant, and master. But a lesser wish for up to six masters. As you know the cup from the previous war was not claimed, or if you were unaware of that fact you know of it now. This incidental coincidence was not told to other masters in previous wars because of the fact that other masters may abuse the loop hole. More over the mana generated during the war goes into the holy grail itself. This would mean the loophole is meaningless and would have prolonged the war further. However with seven additional masters the impossible has come to light. The cup has declared that up to several masters can now claim the grail as a party. Not unlike how some champions of old would do. However that's not the end of it. Each group may not party up with an additional servant of their same class. In other words Assassin may not work with Assassin. Saber must not work with Saber. And Beserker, even if it wanted to, would not be able to wreak havoc in their shared madness. Though the grail encourages the old rules it is now willing to accept this new set of rules for this specific tournament."

"A Great Holy Grail War does not happen often. Also, though this is speculation, it may be possible to grant more powerful wishes with the deaths of more servants than the typically required amount. So that means even if you team up you may indeed wish to kill the other masters, and or the servants. The less there are the stronger the wish I would believe. Though I have not been told if this is a definite possibility as of yet. So you may choose to team up. Or you may chose to go solo. The grail will allow either. However strength in numbers is a powerful thing. If you see yourself fighting a group of other servants without allies...then perhaps you may not have made the right choice. Regardless you are the masters, and your destinies are intertwined with one another. Is your wish so valuable to you all that you would kill each other whole slaughter? Or perhaps you wish to mitigate tragedy and help others at the risk of trusting another? It is not my place to say. I am an old man and I must remain neutral in this war. You must decide for yourselves your place in the world." Walter exposited to the group at hand. Leon, the dapper gentleman named Takumi, and Togami remained silent thinking over what was said however Leon was more focused with his eyes on the door. This whole new dynamic was certainly going to change things but he'd need to think it over with Saber later. Perhaps an alliance may be formed with some of the people here....but were they trust worthy enough? He certainly couldn't pick up their numbers though at the very least Togami seemed to wear his heart on his sleeve.

====

Archer looked at the Saber with a frown as he shook his head, "I don't understand how in the world you came to that conclusion but I believe it to be false. People of my age group are more willing to accept the world's kindness, and reject adult's abject cruelties. I fight not because I like to hurt people but because the war dictates I do so. I have no ill will towards any of you. You have done nothing to wrong me, nor will you probably do so in the future. What happens in the war is not going to be done out of malice I hope. We're good people are we not? We're all here talking like civilized humans though we are not as such. I believe that the human soul has the chance to overcome any obstacle even it's own darkness. Humanity must rule it's own destiny not some abject god. We must work together to bring harmony to others. Even if I am not long for this world much longer than I need to be I hope to leave this world a better place than I left it. To every little man there must be a chance to hope for a better future." Archer said passionately but with composure, and a controlled coolness. He said every word regally, and without going overboard and letting his emotions get to him. He sat still where he was and looked at the other servant with a face that told his associate that he rejected the concept of coldness, and indifference in battle.

However when Rider approached him he smiled brightly at him, and nodded. "I appreciate the vote of confidence mister! You seem to be of good nature yourself. I feel like...you were important too something. You hold an aura around you that matches only that someone historically important would have. I wonder why the throne of heroes would give someone like you such an bizarre feeling. I say that because...you don't seem to want that importance do you mister? Unlike me you don't seem to fashion yourself a ruler of the people do you?" Archer said with a childish tone as he grinned at Rider. His red eyes fixed on the individual too see how he'd react to that statement. His clairvoyance was powerful so he couldn't keep it all restrained he could tell this man here was someone worth noting...though by how much Archer wasn't entirely sure. I mean that berserker flared with godly power but gods were such easily defeated creatures. So caught up in their own divinity they forgot to look to the ground to see the obvious. A perverbal sword of Damocles always hung over their head if one would need a metaphor. "I hope I haven't stepped out of bounds Mister. I don't mean to step on anyone toes...I just am able to...'feel things' if you catch my meaning. It's hard to explain even if I wanted to explain to a man who I may be killing later." Archer commented further as he put his hand on the back of his head and chuckled.

 

[Skilletzorz]

"I meant no slight, I was speaking from personal experience. Growing up in different eras in different walks of life would give us very different perspectives on the world I imagine."

Smiling Saber raised a hand in surrender. He knew the young boy had his beliefs and they were not entirely wrong, but this was a matter of opinion. And the boy was right in one sense, he held no malice with his words, though the reaction he received was quite good all the same. Had the he been born in a different era...

"Indeed, no need to invite more discontent than that war brings on it's own, and I'm happy you have yet to lose your own way in the world. Had there been more people with your mindset in my homeland we may have achieved greatness but alas, things do not always work out quite right on my end."

Saber turned to the easterner....had he not seen the man next to him, he would have assumed Berserker but, he had a faint hope they could get along.

"I suppose I can agree to your sentiment though...love without the ability to overcome adversity is infatuation at best and lust at it's worst."

 

[Blighted_Agent]

Sygila had a hard time parsing Shintani's thought process. It seemed so surreal for her to be taking it so lightly. Still, maybe that was her way of coping with things. Sygila managed an awkward laugh, smile, and nod. A box of chocolates, huh?, she thought absently; that meant Shintani would be some kind of super sweet milk mix, and Togami was chocolate-covered cockroach, and... W-wait, why I am I thinking about that?! Don't let yourself get distracted, Sygila!, she mentally chided herself, trying to focus on Father Walter's explanation. She took a quick look at the old man, who seemed to... have fallen asleep, or something like that. Raising an eyebrow, she turned back to the other person. She didn't like the rifle, but that was probably all the more reason to be civil. "It's Hellshock, right? A pleasure...", so she said along with a polite nod.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Oliver didn't like the fact that he had not found anybody else with the rain. Where were the missing Masters? That Hane lady, she might have a point to all this, but it didn't sit well with him, to immediately assume something so negative like she had done. Father Walter's explanation had been useful and concrete, but not really reassuring. When would it all be decided? At a loss as to what to do, Oliver decided to simply stay quiet and observe. That little lady from earlier, she seemed to be doing fine in her interactions with the other two... Perhaps with Hane, but, ah, no, she was addressing the other man... Perhaps later, then...?
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Hane listened intently to the priest's explanation. She was mighty pissed about all this, she hated teamwork in spite of how useful it could be. She'd have to scout properly to ensure she sided with the group that had the best chances of winning... Still, she didn't like the majordomo guy that had shown up, and, with a vicious smirk, addressed him "Keh, did your Master's balls fall off? This is a place for Masters, and by your own admission you ain't one. Beat it, bitch, or at least bring the real deal with you."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Berserker's demeanor had changed, and to that he'd just responded with a short, feral smile and eye opened wide. "We can have a body count match later, crazed sir. I'll bet you'd like that as much as myself, heh!", so he said with confidence. As this was happening, though, the kid was poking at the pysche of the man playing with the stone and while that was funny in and of itself, Lancer was more interested in the little exchange happening between the easterner and the redheaded pretty boy. A lady being unattainable, oh how he knew that situation...
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Rider was amused and surprised by the child hero's insight, not that he let it show beyond a raised eyebrows and a few nods while condescendingly nodding with smile. He was sure the kid could use some teasing, and he could just let him get away with saying so many things just like that! He flipped the stone in his other hand like a coin now and then, and in a suitably respectful tone (as promised), he answered "Got it in one, little hero. Best not to speak too much, but, The Throne works in mysterious ways, so perhaps 'tis not as strange that somebody like myself would come forth. We can call this a work of an... uncontrollable intuition, and leave it at that, yes?"

 

[Xaldin]

Hetza had listened intently to the Overseer, but wasn't sure how she felt about it. Going it alone suddenly became suicide so now she had to find people she could trust. Which considering she just met these people...is a tall order to fill. Shintani seemed alright, Leon was friendly enough, but trusting them was a bit much. No, even if she did team up she'd always have to remain on her guard and--

"Huh?" Hetza snapped out of her thoughts as the woman speaking to Shintani now addressed her. "Ah, yes. Hellshock is a...nickname, of sorts. Nice to meet you."

Shintani had mixed opinions herself but for entirely different reasons than Hetza. 'So like, there's more people to fight but I'll have to team up with someone to not get demolished. Which means I won't get to fight whoever I team up with. Friggin' lame.' She sighed, finding her usual cheerfulness replaced with dissatisfaction. She thought about asking Hetza to team up with but then they probably wouldn't get to fight so it put her off of it. She'd needed to do some thinking.

"Hmhm." Assassin had a small chuckle. Taking a metaphorical step back, he found it amusing to see all these heroes surprisingly getting along. "If we're to be here long, it might be entertaining to gather 'round a camp fire. Share stories of old, enjoy some fine wine... May as well make a night of it."

He'd recalled that was exactly what his master DIDN'T want to see upon returning from the church but really, what harm could there be?

Berserker didn't seem to mind one way or the other. He was just looking forward to racking up a body count to match Lancer's.

 

[VanceXentan]

"I shall agree to not pry into it any further if that is what you desire." commented Archer politely as he continued to lay where he was humming contently until the weird man started asking about a fire? "I'm all for camp fires but...shouldn't we not do that here? I mean the overseer's guard surely doesn't want a fire being started. More over I don't think we have a suitable fire place." commented Archer further as he looked over the assembled crew wondering who among them would actually go so far as to try and get firewood...for a meeting that was surely at least half way over. However something felt odd...Archer closed his eyes as the others took their attention off of him and looked deeply inside of himself for a moment. He breathed out slowly as his noble phantasm took hold of him. He smiled to himself as he opened his eyes. He looked up at the sky. "Well...at least tonight won't be all too boring.." whispered Archer to himself as he wondered how long it would take for things to change.

====

"I would appreciate you not using such language in a place of neutrality, and religion my lady." commented the priest sternly towards Hane as the gentleman named Takumi responded by simple shake of his head. "My master simply had better things to do than to talk to such foul mouthed thugs such as yourself miss. I may not be a master but I know more than enough about the war. After all I believe I am not the only one here who is representing someone else I'm sure." commented the butler as he adjusted his clothing slightly with no hint of malice but distaste towards Hane was clearly there. Leon frowned as he stood up from his place. "Ignoring some of the mean spirited talk here today the only one I would think would make a good partner would be Shintani. All the same I'm willing to listen to some of you if you have proposals that can be made." Leon said as Togami grumbled something to himself as he checked a clock on his phone.

Togami nodded simply and looked up at the assembled group, "Indeed this is quite the conundrum that has found itself on our laps. Those who do not seek allies will be at quite the disadvantage. However it would be moronic to trust anyone, including those in this room right now, and just accept that they won't hurt you. This game just got a whole lot more intriguing than I'd imagined it would be when I arrived. It's now a game of knives, and words. Anyone can fight but can you work together is the question presented to us. I don't see assassin working well with others, and I wouldn't trust Caster with a plastic cup of fresh water. As it stands it may be necessary to team up with one another. However I'm not sure if all of you are quite up to par with my own expectations. To be quite honest you shouldn't look at me any other way as well. I'll be sure to keep an eye on everyone for the foreseeable future." Togami said with a professional tone as he straightened his suit's tie. His cold eyes looked around, and gave no emotion away. Father Walter remained silent. "This will indeed be 'pain' if you would. My own lord, bless him, would probably seek to ally with most of you however I will make sure he knows otherwise would be a foolish endeavor. I too will be sure to keep an eye on everyone assembled." Takumi said with a stiff nod.

====

Meanwhile on the other side of town...

"You know I really should've seen that coming. A big guy like that with those eyes shouldn't be all that mentally sane." grunted the brown haired servant with a dirty scruffy looking beard beard on his chin, a red cape, long black boots, a pair of white Pantaloons, and green armor as he ran around the corner. Shortly behind him was one of the other servants. She kept pace with him rather well but was clearly very unhappy about their shared situation. She was very scantily dressed with loosing fitting samurai armor that showed off her rather poor midriff, and her black cape floated behind her as she ran. "____-San I thought I told you that this whole endeavor would end badly." said the woman with a calm flatness in her voice. "Hey it was worth a shot you know. It worked with you figured it may work again. Let's just focus on-" the male servant ducked quickly as his well honed instincts kicked in narrowly dodging a flung object that would've landed him firmly on his ass if he had gotten hit with it. "Regardless the sooner we're done with this the better. We must keep going be sure not to die. I will need you in this fight." stated the female servant as the male one chuckled. "Grown fond of me that quickly have you?" laughed the male one as the female one snorted. "No I'd just prefer not to die so quickly before the war has even truly begun."

 

[Brother Gabriel]

"I do believe we are late for the party, Master" Caster said with his calm voice as he looked around that limousine, taking in all the Japanese architecture and surroundings as it was his and his Master's first time in Fuyuki City "Yes we are, Sir Caster, we are undoubtedly are, but take a few minutes to relax and enjoy the scene" Cordelio said to his servant as he drank his grape wine as he continue to stare outside the window, reminiscing on the past few days or weeks or even months on what has transpired on his life.

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After much research and shady deals, he has done it, he was about to finally find a way to enter to the Holy Grail with this servant to guide him to victory, barely he could remember the process, all he could remember was the rumbling, the lightning, and the explosion, he opened his eyes and found his basement messy and distorted, like an actual bomb exploded on it , and in the middle of the room where the summoning ritual was supposed to be, a young person whom appears to be a woman, dressed in a white tailed lab coat stands, the figure saw him and proceeded to walk towards him, Cordelio was too stunned to get up and when the figure got closed to him, the figure extended a hand in offering of help and said "I am your servant ,Caster, Paracelsus von Hohenheim is the name and if you accept my hand, you signed our contract!" the figure, Paracelsus von Hohenheim said to him, he accepted the hand and the Hohenheim helped him stood up, Cordelio fixed his composure and said "For a woman, you sure have a man's voice, milady" he said as he put on his top hat and then looked at Caster who was looking at him funny.

"You think I'm a girl Master?" Paracelsus said to him "Uh? Then that means . . . . OH NO!! " The realization dawn to him and he smacked himself in the head for thinking that his servant was a girl, Caster laughed at him and his antics "It's okay Master, most people often mistake me of a woman due to my long black hair and fair complexion " the two shared a hearty laugh until Cordelio said to Caster "Sir Paracelsus, will you lend me your aid to help reach my goal?" Caster looked at him strangely, thinking that Cordelio must have forgotten the already signed contract they just made to each other.

"I am the instrument of your desire, your orders are my wishes but. . ." Caster stopped for a moment before continuing " Will you help me in my desire to attain the highest root of knowledge?" Caster asked of his Master, Cordelio raised his hand in an open palm, Caster was confused by this gesture but Cordelio "Take my Hand, then our contract is signed" Cordelio said to Caster with a determined look, Caster was surprised by this action. A master and a servant doing contracts for each other, unheard of, Caster smiled and took Cordelio's hand and said "It is done"

Caster placed his trust on his master, even though they just met a few seconds "Maybe this time, I will be able to reach the Root" Caster thought as he looked at his Master with determination to succeed. While Cordelio placed his faith on Caster, and trusted him also with his life and his goal "With Caster by my side, we will win" Cordelio said with Pride and certainty as he raise his fist in the air with Caster looking on.

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"Master" Cordelio woke up from his nap as noticed that the limousine has stopped in front of what seems to be a Cathedral "Huh, where are we?" Cordelio said, in a daze still "We are where we are supposed to be if we haven't got lost Master" Caster stepped out of the Limo and proceeded to open Cordelio's door for him "Thank you" he said to Caster.

"Now, let's get on to business shall we?" He said to Caster as he puts on his top hat "Of course Master" Caster replied, we no words need to be said, the two entered the Cathedra